Miriam and Aaron Rebel

12 Miriam^(A) and Aaron criticized Moses because of the Cushite woman he married (for he had married a Cushite woman). ² They said, “Does the Lord speak only through Moses? Does he not also speak through us?” And the Lord heard it. ³ Moses was a very humble man, more so than anyone on the face of the earth.

⁴ Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them went out. ⁵ Then the Lord descended in a pillar of cloud,^(B) stood at the entrance to the tent, and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them came forward, ⁶ he said:

So why were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” ⁹ The Lord’s anger burned against them,^(G) and he left.

¹⁰ As the cloud moved away from the tent, Miriam’s skin suddenly became diseased, resembling snow.^[c] When Aaron turned toward her, he saw that she was diseased ¹¹ and said to Moses, “My lord, please don’t hold against us this sin we have so foolishly committed. ¹² Please don’t let her be like a dead baby^[d] whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.”

¹³ Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “God, please heal her!” ^(H)

¹⁴ The Lord answered Moses, “If her father had merely spit in her face, wouldn’t she remain in disgrace for seven days? Let her be confined outside the camp^(I) for seven days;^(J) after that she may be brought back in.” ¹⁵ So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was brought back in.^{(K) 16} After that, the people set out from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.

The Light of the Gospel

4 Therefore, since we have this ministry because we were shown mercy,^(A) we do not give up.^{(B) 2} Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful things, not acting^(C) deceitfully or distorting the word of God,^(D) but commending ourselves before God to everyone’s conscience by an open display of the truth.^{(E) 3} But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ In their case, the god of this age^(F) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,^[a](G) who is the image of God.^{(H) 5} For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord,^(I) and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’s sake. ⁶ For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”^(J) has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge^(K) of God’s glory^(L) in the face of Jesus Christ.

Treasure in Clay Jars

⁷ Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power^(M) may be from God and not from us. ⁸ We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; ⁹ we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry the death of Jesus^(N) in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body. ¹¹ For we who live are always being given over to death^(O) for Jesus’s sake, so that Jesus’s life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh. ¹² So then, death is at work in us, but life in you. ¹³ And since we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke,^[b](P) we also believe, and therefore speak. ¹⁴ For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus^(Q) and present us with you. ¹⁵ Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving^(R) to increase to the glory of God.

¹⁶ Therefore we do not give up.^(S) Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person^(T) is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our momentary light affliction^(U) is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.^{(V) 18} So we do not focus on what is seen,^(W) but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Psalm 5

The Refuge of the Righteous

For the choir director: with the flutes. A psalm of David.